Latest / Stugotz and Company / Set 2: The Mount Rushmore of Outfield Arms (w/ Tim Kurkijan)

Transcript

Set 2: The Mount Rushmore of Outfield Arms (w/ Tim Kurkijan) · Stugotz and Company

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Tim Kirchner going to join us in about 10 minutes.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Always look forward to speaking with him. Talk some baseball, obviously,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: with our buddy Tim Kirchner. But I was shocked every
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: day I get a topic list here from Taylor. And
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: I was shocked because he's a young man to see
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: him have some thoughts here on Dolly Parton, who passed
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: away yesterday at the age of 80. Very sad day.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Great life. Great musician. Just a great person. Taylor, you
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: have thoughts here on Dolly Parton?
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so Dolly Parton, country music legend, cultural icon. She
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: did so much giving back to the community.
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: She did.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: And I was thinking when Dolly Parton passes away, it
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: is rare in this day and age, I was going
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: to say, to read any good news on the newspaper page.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: What theme song was that from? Family Matters, maybe?
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: What?
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: I think that's the Family Matters theme song. It's a
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: rare condition this day and age to read any good
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: news on the newspaper page. Some people say it's even
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: harder to find.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: No idea what you're talking about.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: So in this day and age, it's very rare for
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: a celebrity to have what feels like 100% approval rating.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: And that's what it feels like when it comes to
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Dolly Parton. I don't think I've ever heard anybody say
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: a bad word about Dolly Parton in her 80 years.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: So I was wondering, who else has been at Dolly
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Parton's level of fame with the same almost universal approval?
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: Just quickly, Dolly Parton wrote a song, 9 to 5.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: I think it was the number one song in America.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: The song was such a hit, and she was such
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: a hit, they made a movie out of it. She
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: also wrote the song from Bodyguard. Whitney Houston sang it.
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: She wrote it. It's probably the most famous song in
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: the history of music, right?
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I Will Always Love You?
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, she wrote that song.
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: So apparently Dolly Parton wrote Jolene and I Will Always
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Love You on the same day.
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: That's a day.
• 2:00
  Speaker 5: Huh?
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: There's probably never been a better day in music writing history.
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: Those are two number one hits right there.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: In one day. And she gave it away to Whitney Houston?
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: Well, she said, I can't sing like that. Only she can. Right?
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: She wrote it for her.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: That's a respect the game.
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: She respects the game.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: That's why you love her. That's why she was universally
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: applauded yesterday. That's why no one criticizes Dolly Parton.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: She's great.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: Now, the opposite end of the spectrum is Sylvester Stallone
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: writing such a great script for the Rocky.
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: And then when he pitched the Rocky plot, he said,
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: I'm starring. And they were like, we really don't want you.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: but we'll buy the script from you. And he was like, nope,
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: I'm starring.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: I'm Rocky, yes. The S in Stallone stands for Stugatz.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: How about that? I'm so proud of him.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: And selfish.
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: Why, he nailed the part, though. He was the guy
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: for the part. He was proven right.
• 2:51
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: To be fair, he was.
• 2:53
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: And Dolly was proven right. She can't sing that song.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: So Whitney sang it and sang it better than anyone
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: would ever sing it in the history of music. So
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: who is universally loved and appreciated with the same level
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: of fame? Charles Barkley comes to mind. Tim Kirchen comes
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: to mind?
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: Tim Kirchen's good, but Tim Kirchen doesn't have the reach
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: of somebody like Dolly Parton. I don't think anybody in
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: sports could reach that level of approval because you'll always
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: have opposing fans that try to put the other people down.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Some of the names that I came up with, Danny DeVito.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Anytime I see Danny DeVito, I'm smiling.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but you're saying there are no detractors out there?
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: No one would have a bad word to say about
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: Danny DeVito? I mean, you're probably right. I have no idea.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: The other one that I came up with? Keanu Reeves?
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Or is it because he's an actor and sometimes actors
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: could put out bad movies or people don't think they're
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: that great of an actor? Because Replacements is maybe my
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: most underrated movie and one of the best football movies ever.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: It's a great movie. He's a great actor. Speed is good.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Point Break is his best movie. Johnny Utah.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: Is that a quarterback name? Johnny Utah.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: But Keanu Reeves, I don't feel like he would get
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: universal praise or applause. I think we would break into
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: an argument as to whether or not he was a
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: good actor.
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: I mean, but maybe you're right. Who else?
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: The other name that I have that I think is
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: on par with Dolly Parton, Steve Irwin.
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
• 4:39
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: No one had a bad word to say about Steve Irwin.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: How could you?
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: It says more about you if you have something bad
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: to say about somebody like Dolly Parton and Steve Irwin
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: than it does whatever bad thing that you have to
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: say about them.
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: It's on you. It's not on them. You're just a
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: miserable SOB.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: I've never felt older delivering a line that I did
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: right there. From the world of music, Ricardo, can you
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: think of anyone where if they passed away, it would
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: be received the way Dolly Parton passing away was yesterday?
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: Is there anyone in music? Maybe Prince?
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: Maybe?
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: That's not bad.
• 5:16
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: But even Prince had some detractors. Dolly had none.
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: None!
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: None! Did I go Tim Kirchen?
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: We'll get his thoughts on Dolly Barton next.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: The great Tim Kirchen is with us. Baseball's regular season
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: is coming to an end here. We'll get to the
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: postseason later. In a month or so, but check out
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: his podcast. Is this a great game or what? He
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: does it with his son. Timmy, we were having a debate.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us, by the way. We were
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: having a debate as to whether or not Giancarlo Stanton
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: will one day make it to baseball's Hall of Fame.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: What do you think?
• 5:58
  Speaker 5: Well, he's going to have to get to 500 homers first.
• 6:02
  Speaker 5: And with his current health situation, that is certainly in doubt.
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: When you make it to 500 and you don't have
• 6:11
  Speaker 5: any other baggage, that is any sort of PED connection,
• 6:17
  Speaker 5: you're in the Hall of Fame. But that doesn't necessarily
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: mean that he would be in the Hall of Fame.
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: My guess is if he gets to 500, someday he
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: will be a Hall of Fame player. But again, with
• 6:29
  Speaker 5: the injuries and his lack of athleticism in the last
• 6:34
  Speaker 5: few years has held him back. But that's some serious power,
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: pretty good postseason numbers, former MVP. He's going to make
• 6:44
  Speaker 5: a compelling case, but by no means a slam dunk
• 6:47
  Speaker 5: if he gets to 500.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: Tim, on the topic of Hall of Fame, if Mookie
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Betts went into the Hall of Fame tomorrow, does he
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: go in as a Red Sox or a Dodger?
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: Great question.
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: I think his best years were as a Red Sox.
• 7:03
  Speaker 5: It's a really good question because he's done some really
• 7:06
  Speaker 5: good things for the Dodgers. Never forget, when they beat
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: the Rays in 2020, Mookie was as big a reason
• 7:13
  Speaker 5: as any. Just with the way he ran the bases
• 7:17
  Speaker 5: in that one, World Series. It was breathtaking to watch.
• 7:20
  Speaker 5: And the fact that he was the best defensive right
• 7:24
  Speaker 5: fielder in the game. And I had somebody tell me
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: he was the best defensive player at any position.
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: In the game. And then he moved to the middle infield.
• 7:33
  Speaker 5: It's like unheard of. You go from right field to shortstop.
• 7:36
  Speaker 5: And even though he's not the same shortstop that he
• 7:39
  Speaker 5: was a right fielder, he's still more than good enough
• 7:42
  Speaker 5: to play there.
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: He's had an amazing career.
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: I just think he did more with the Red Sox
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: than he has so far, at least with the Dodgers.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: Timmy, I walked in today and our board op, his
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: name is Ricardo. We call him board op Ricardo. He was,
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: he had an ear to ear smile. And I said,
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: what are you so happy about? And he said, Tim
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: Kirchner is joining us. And so he loves you so much.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: I want to give him the ability here to ask
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: you a couple of questions because I maintain outside of you,
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: there was no one in my life that loves baseball
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: more than then Bordock Ricardo.
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: So, Ricardo, take it away.
• 8:15
  Speaker 6: Hey, Tim, first time, long time. Thank you for everything
• 8:18
  Speaker 6: you've done to the game. I just want to start
• 8:19
  Speaker 6: off with that. But the Marlins recently fired the majority
• 8:22
  Speaker 6: of their pro scouts department. What's the reasoning behind this move?
• 8:25
  Speaker 6: Is it a pre-lockout move to control salaries or something else?
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: I'll hang up and listen.
• 8:33
  Speaker 5: Ricardo, we just don't value our scouts any longer, not
• 8:38
  Speaker 5: just with the Marlins, but anywhere. Now, granted, I'm almost
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: 70 years old, so I'm a little bit biased on this,
• 8:45
  Speaker 5: but I'm a big believer that the eyes and ears
• 8:49
  Speaker 5: of a veteran baseball man, especially a scout who used
• 8:53
  Speaker 5: to play or has been around the game his whole life,
• 8:56
  Speaker 5: is invaluable. The 2019 Nationals won the World Series in
• 8:58
  Speaker 5: part because because they sent Bob Boone and a bunch
• 9:04
  Speaker 5: of other veteran baseball guys out so they could answer
• 9:08
  Speaker 5: the question, what is this team doing? How do we
• 9:11
  Speaker 5: beat this team? Well, we've gotten so far away from
• 9:15
  Speaker 5: that with our scouts. So I'm not positive what the
• 9:18
  Speaker 5: Marlins did. I'm just telling you it is league-wide that
• 9:22
  Speaker 5: we don't value our scouts like we used to. We
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: are scouting in different ways. But in the end, I
• 9:30
  Speaker 5: just want someone who knows what he's watching to go
• 9:34
  Speaker 5: see a team play and then call a manager and say,
• 9:37
  Speaker 5: here's what this team is doing.
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: And that stuff still matters in the game today.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: Tell me Tim Kirchard has a best scout of all time,
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: do you?
• 9:48
  Speaker 5: Well, I'm a little biased on this, but Mike Toomey
• 9:51
  Speaker 5: is my favorite scout of all time. Again, he's a
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: personal friend of mine, but he scouted.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: For years and years and years.
• 9:59
  Speaker 5: And this is really important to note, Stu Gatz. Mike
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: Pasek and Mike Toomey were scouts for the Royals when
• 10:07
  Speaker 5: they won the World Series in 2016.
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: And among the.
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: Other things they said while they were advancing the other
• 10:15
  Speaker 5: teams in the postseason is, whatever you do, make the
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: the Mets infielders throw the ball because David Wright had
• 10:25
  Speaker 5: a shoulder issue at third. Daniel Murphy at second had
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: some issues also. And Lucas Duda, the first baseman, had
• 10:34
  Speaker 5: trouble throwing. In that series, Eric Hosmer, in one of
• 10:39
  Speaker 5: the key plays in the entire series, was on third,
• 10:41
  Speaker 5: ground ball hit to Duda, and he ran home in
• 10:45
  Speaker 5: a place where he shouldn't have. But the advanced scouts,
• 10:49
  Speaker 5: Mike Pesick and Mike Toomey, told him, make them throw
• 10:53
  Speaker 5: the ball. As it turns out, Duda threw the ball away.
• 10:56
  Speaker 5: It was a critical game, a critical run scored. So
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: Mike Toomey has told me a thousand, thousand scout stories,
• 11:05
  Speaker 5: all of which I love. And so he's my favorite
• 11:07
  Speaker 5: scout of all time. May not be the greatest one
• 11:10
  Speaker 5: of all time, but he was really, really good.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Scout stories. Great book, Timmy. That's a great idea. Just
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: stories from scouts. You should get on that.
• 11:19
  Speaker 5: I mean, well, in my second book, I have a
• 11:23
  Speaker 5: chapter just on scouts and Mike Toomey provided me much
• 11:28
  Speaker 5: of the Great stuff from the scouts. Just to show
• 11:31
  Speaker 5: you how things worked a million years ago, an older
• 11:35
  Speaker 5: scout had a heart attack. Right. And he was in
• 11:39
  Speaker 5: the ambulance. going to the hospital and he, he told
• 11:45
  Speaker 5: the guy who was in the ambulance with him, get
• 11:47
  Speaker 5: the mileage from where we're going to the hospital to
• 11:51
  Speaker 5: make sure I can put that on my expense.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: Who thinks of that when they're having a heart attack?
• 11:59
  Speaker 5: I mean, right. That's how our old time scouts used
• 12:03
  Speaker 5: to operate. But I repeat, they were invaluable parts of
• 12:06
  Speaker 5: the franchise and they're just not the same anymore.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: Tim, I'm going to pitch you a rule for baseball
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: and I want you to put your commissioner hat on
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: and tell me if you would approve the rule or not.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: If you're not 500, you're disqualified from the playoffs.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: I like it.
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: Uh, I certainly see your point.
• 12:26
  Speaker 5: But this year in the American League, we have a
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: real chance that a sub 500 team is going to
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: make it. And I'm going to vote against that rule
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: for this reason. You make the playoffs in baseball. Even
• 12:41
  Speaker 5: if you're under 500, you have a chance to do something.
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: In October.
• 12:46
  Speaker 5: Back when I used to love basketball, and I still
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: love basketball. I don't love the NBA like I used to,
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: but when the Wizards would make the playoffs and go
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: up against Jordan's Bulls in their prime, the Wizards had
• 13:01
  Speaker 5: zero chance to win that series.
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: Zero chance. But you make the playoffs, especially this.
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: Year in the American League, and even if you're two
• 13:09
  Speaker 5: games under. 500, you have a chance to do some
• 13:12
  Speaker 5: damage depending on your team and how you're playing, because
• 13:16
  Speaker 5: of just how beautiful the game is and its degree
• 13:19
  Speaker 5: of difficulty where a team gets hot and they can
• 13:22
  Speaker 5: pull off almost anything in October, as the Jays proved
• 13:27
  Speaker 5: last year. So I'm going to say no. I'm going
• 13:30
  Speaker 5: to say we should not have... So we should have teams.
• 13:35
  Speaker 5: Where you finish at the end of the season is
• 13:36
  Speaker 5: where you belong. And if you're under 500 and in
• 13:39
  Speaker 5: the playoffs, you belong in the playoffs.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Timmy, you have told me for years that what you
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: love about baseball, one of the many things you love
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: about baseball is on any given night, you can see
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: something you've never seen before. Any given season, you can
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: see a season you've never seen before. Have you ever
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: seen a season like the Red Sox are having right
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: now where they've won five straight, They were 14 below.
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: 500.
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: Now they're 14 games above. 500. It's been ridiculous to watch.
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: They're the hottest team in baseball, Tim.
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen a midseason turnaround
• 14:13
  Speaker 5: quite like this.
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: You're right, Stu Gotts.
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: They were 32 and 46, 14 games under.
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: 62 days later, they were 14 games over 500.
• 14:25
  Speaker 5: That's the second fewest amount of days in between any
• 14:30
  Speaker 5: team in history.
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: Going from 14 under... to 14 over.
• 14:34
  Speaker 5: The 1914 Boston Braves, known as the Miracle Braves, went
• 14:40
  Speaker 5: from 1,400 to 14 over in 59 days. This Red
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: Sox team did it in 62. I did not see
• 14:48
  Speaker 5: this happening in any way, shape, or form. And just
• 14:52
  Speaker 5: proving again how beautifully unpredictable this game is.
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: Yep.
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: That I've slapped my forehead at least a thousand times
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: this year saying, how can this happen? And at least
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: a hundred times it's involved the Red Sox. This makes
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: no sense, which makes it so great.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Have you ever slapped your forehead this many times for
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: one team in a single season?
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: I mean... It's been confounding to say the least.
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: They were dead.
• 15:19
  Speaker 5: My cousins, some of whom live right around Boston, would
• 15:22
  Speaker 5: call me and say, this is an embarrassment. I will
• 15:25
  Speaker 5: never go back to the ballpark again. And a month
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: and a half later, they're.
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: Saying, we're going to go to the World Series.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: How could that?
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: That cannot happen.
• 15:33
  Speaker 5: I don't think this can happen in another sport, but
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: it can happen in baseball.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: Tim, how would you rank the Rays, the Yankees, and
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: the Red Sox as contenders in the American League?
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: Hmm.
• 15:46
  Speaker 5: Well, I still love the way the Rays play the game.
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: They just run until someone tags them out. They are
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: so aggressive. They put the ball in play. Their pitching
• 15:55
  Speaker 5: is really good. They really catch the ball. And when
• 15:58
  Speaker 5: Junior Caminero is right, he is as strong a power
• 16:03
  Speaker 5: hitter as.
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: We have in the game.
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: If, however, the Yankees get completely healthy, and that's Weathers
• 16:10
  Speaker 5: back and Freed back and everyone in that rotation completely healthy,
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: and Judge being the judge of the last two full seasons,
• 16:20
  Speaker 5: and Stanton comes back and has a great October, which
• 16:23
  Speaker 5: is highly unlikely at this point, then I think the
• 16:26
  Speaker 5: Yankees are the best team in the American League.
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: But from what we've.
• 16:30
  Speaker 5: Watched this year, you cannot count any of those three
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: teams out of going to the World Series from the
• 16:36
  Speaker 5: American League because the American League is just so ridiculously
• 16:40
  Speaker 5: strange this year. But I think the Rays have the
• 16:44
  Speaker 5: best team right now. The Yankees could have the best team.
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: And the Red Sox are the great wild card. Who
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: knows what they might accomplish next?
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: We asked you this last time, but is PCA still
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: your NL MVP?
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: It's tough.
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: It really is, yes.
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: It's a toss-up. It is a tie. Anybody who votes
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: for Otani, I have no problem with that.
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: But PCA's numbers are ridiculous. And when you look at
• 17:12
  Speaker 5: when this club took off, it's when they put him
• 17:16
  Speaker 5: in the leadoff spot and everybody rallied around him.
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: But it's not.
• 17:20
  Speaker 5: Just that he's got– 32 homers, whatever he's got, it's
• 17:25
  Speaker 5: because Craig Council, their manager, told me that PCA is
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: the best defensive player at any position on the planet.
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: He also told me he's the fastest player in the league.
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: And I'm quoting here, he's a different kind of fast
• 17:42
  Speaker 5: than any player I've ever seen. Craig Council told me,
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: meaning the short burst, stop and start, quickness on the bases.
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: He can win a game with his legs. He wins
• 17:53
  Speaker 5: a game with his glove and center field, and he
• 17:56
  Speaker 5: can hit the ball out of the ballpark.
• 17:57
  Speaker 4: He's an amazing player.
• 17:59
  Speaker 5: He would get my vote by an inch over Otani
• 18:03
  Speaker 5: for the MVP right now. But if Otani comes back
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: in September and pitches like crazy and is in the
• 18:10
  Speaker 5: rotation when the postseason starts, that's going to win the day.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Tim, for as bad as the Mets have been this season,
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: it feels like one of the positives for that team
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: has been the young outfielders, A.J. Ewing, Carson Bench. Carson
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: Bench has that moment last week where he threw out
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: back-to-back runners in the first inning. According to Tim Kirchen,
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: the best arm in MLB history.
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: Outfield arm.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: The best outfield arm in MLB history.
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: Oh, God, he's got this.
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: I mean.
• 18:38
  Speaker 5: Well, Roberto Clemente has the greatest throwing arm in Major
• 18:41
  Speaker 5: League history. Now, of course, it's impossible to prove that.
• 18:44
  Speaker 5: But me being almost 70 years old, I saw Roberto
• 18:48
  Speaker 5: Clemente play.
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: And I watched him.
• 18:51
  Speaker 5: Very closely in the 71 World Series, and there was
• 18:55
  Speaker 5: nothing quite like him.
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: And then in.
• 18:58
  Speaker 5: In spring training 1972, the Pirates came and played an
• 19:03
  Speaker 5: exhibition game to finish spring training in Washington, D.C. And
• 19:07
  Speaker 5: I went to that game because that's where I lived
• 19:10
  Speaker 5: in the D.C.
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: Area.
• 19:11
  Speaker 5: He made a throw from right field to third base
• 19:14
  Speaker 5: in that game. And that's all I wanted to see
• 19:16
  Speaker 5: when I went to see Clemente play. I needed him
• 19:19
  Speaker 5: to see him hit a rocket line drive to the
• 19:22
  Speaker 5: opposite field because nobody hit it harder the opposite way
• 19:25
  Speaker 5: than him. And then I needed to see him really
• 19:27
  Speaker 5: unleash something.
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: And he did.
• 19:30
  Speaker 5: And I went home thinking, this is unbelievable what I
• 19:33
  Speaker 5: just saw today. So he's the greatest throwing outfielder of
• 19:37
  Speaker 5: all time, in my opinion.
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: Do you have a Mount Rushmore?
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: Clemente's on there, but Mount Rushmore of outfield arms, Vlad Guerrero.
• 19:45
  Speaker 5: I mean, Vlad Guerrero was good. I'm going to say
• 19:51
  Speaker 5: Reggie Smith was there.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: Wow, Dodger, right?
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: I'm going to say Jesse Barfield was there.
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: Dwight Evans?
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: Dwight Evans, cutting this to four is impossible. Yes, Dwight Evans, Ichiro,
• 20:07
  Speaker 5: Dave Winfield. I mean, I've got a list about 100
• 20:11
  Speaker 5: deep of great throwing outfielders. And someone, Ellis Valentine, we
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: forget about him. I covered him with the 82 Rangers.
• 20:18
  Speaker 5: He once looked at me and he said, I've got
• 20:20
  Speaker 5: more talent in my little finger than most people have.
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: In their entire body. So, yeah.
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: Mount Rushmore is really hard, but it starts with Clemente
• 20:29
  Speaker 5: and ends with Clemente.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: I have a sneaky arm, Tim. Raul Mondesi.
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: Ooh, sneaky.
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: Yeah, he had a.
• 20:37
  Speaker 5: He had a great throwing arm, and he didn't really
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: get it extended like really high like this like some
• 20:42
  Speaker 5: other guys did. He kind of threw it almost three-quarters,
• 20:46
  Speaker 5: but he had something on it for sure.
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: You had to throw that name in there, Mondesi. You
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: feel good about that?
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that red glove, too. I love that red glove.
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: Jimmy, by the way, offline, if you would like to
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: give me all 100 of your outfield arms with explanations,
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: it would take a couple hours, but I'll be there
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: for you.
• 21:03
  Speaker 5: Well, you know, it's interesting to me, fellas. I've asked
• 21:06
  Speaker 5: the questions. why are all the greatest outfield arms of
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: all time right-handed? If you start naming the greatest left-handed
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: throwing outfielders of all time, it's way harder to do
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: than the right-handers.
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: Now, Ken Griffey Jr.
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: Had a great arm.
• 21:24
  Speaker 5: Babe Ruth had a great arm because he used to
• 21:26
  Speaker 5: be a pitcher. Rick Ankeel, who was a pitcher and
• 21:30
  Speaker 5: then became an outfielder, had a great arm. So I
• 21:33
  Speaker 5: once asked Paul O'Neill, left-handed throwing outfielder, this question and
• 21:38
  Speaker 5: he said you know you watch the great throwing right-handed
• 21:41
  Speaker 5: throwers from the outfield and they're all like right over
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: the top you get that real true spin coming in
• 21:47
  Speaker 5: like this But a lot of left-handed throwers are a
• 21:50
  Speaker 5: little bit three-quarters over here. And he said that makes
• 21:54
  Speaker 5: for a little bit of a tail at the end
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: of the throw. So maybe it's as simple as there
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: are more right-handed throwers. And if you have a great
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: arm and you're left-handed, they make you a pitcher.
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: But I still think it's an interesting question.
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: Worst outfield arm ever, Johnny Damon.
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: Is that fair? Is that fair, Tim?
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: Uh, Johnny Damon was, was pretty bad.
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: He was such a good offensive player. Uh, I think
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: they put.
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: Up with it. He feels bad saying something bad about anybody.
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: I love Johnny David.
• 22:27
  Speaker 5: He was a really good player. Yes. He's the greatest
• 22:31
  Speaker 5: number 18 of all time. I think he was not
• 22:33
  Speaker 5: a good thrower from the out. Wow.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: The greatest number 18 of all time. Tim, I'm going
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: to sleep over for a weekend. We're just going to
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: talk outfield arms.
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: Can we do that?
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: Can I do that?
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: Can I come over for a weekend? What do you think?
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: No.
• 22:45
  Speaker 5: Sure, Stugatz, but we'll have to get into something other
• 22:48
  Speaker 5: than outfield arms. 100 arms are going to go by
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: in an awful quick amount of time.
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: Well, we'll do, you know, your top 100 number 18s
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: of all time. How about that?
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: Darryl Strawberry.
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: Oh, wow. Straw.
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: Right. Ted Kluszewski.
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: It's an interesting list. Moises Alou.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: There we go.
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Is this a great game or what? It's a podcast.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: He does it with his son. They have a blast
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: doing it together. It's a great list, and check it
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: out wherever you get your podcasts. Timmy, you're the best
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: in the business. We appreciate your time, as always. Thank
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: you for doing this.
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: All right, guys.
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: See you later.
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: Okay. See you, Tim. I'll be over next weekend.